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WASHINGTON (CNS) - A Pennsylvania
grand jury report issued Aug. 14 paints a picture of a Catholic Church in six
of the state's dioceses that for decades handled claims of sex abuse of minors
under its care by hiding the allegations and brushing aside its victims.

More
than 300 priests were linked to abuse claims and over 1,000 victims were
identified, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in a news
conference following the report's release.

"The main thing was
not to help children but to avoid 'scandal,'" says a biting sentence about the
behavior of church leaders and officials in the report, detailing a months-long
investigation of clergy sex abuse claims in the dioceses of Pittsburgh,
Harrisburg, Allentown, Scranton, Greensburg and Erie.

The report of
almost 1,400 pages covers a period of 70 years into the past, including
information from the early 2000s, a time when news of the clerical sex abuse
scandal erupted in the U.S. Before its release, some urged that the report be
read keeping in mind that a lot has changed in the church since then, and also
that not all of the report's claims are substantiated.

In the Diocese of
Pittsburgh, for example, a few priests named in the report are still working
there because diocesan officials could not substantiate claims of abuse made against
them, Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik told local reporters Aug. 10.

The Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette newspaper reported that Bishop Zubik said: "There is no priest or
deacon in an assignment today against whom there was a substantiated allegation
of child sexual abuse." He said he would explain the process to parishioners
following the report's release.

But there are many
painful claims.

In the news
conference, Shapiro described allegations of a priest who physically molested a
group of children by telling them he was doing a "cancer check," one who he
said "impregnated" a girl, others who had boys strike a religious pose naked to
take pictures of them. Shapiro spoke of a "systematic cover-up" by church
officials who took information to the Vatican, who also did nothing to help
victims. He also spoke of priests who "weaponized faith" and had the victims go
to confession for the sins that had just been committed against them.

Some of those who
testified before the grand jury were present for the release of the report.
Reporter Brandie Kessler, of The York Daily Record, tweeted: "Victims and
family members are being led in. I'm seeing a few people starting to cry."

Some bishops from
the six dioceses named responded almost immediately after the release.

"I read the grand
jury report on child sexual abuse with great sadness, for once again we read
that innocent children were the victims of horrific acts committed against
them," said Harrisburg's Bishop Ronald. W. Gainer in a statement shortly after
the document's release. "I am saddened because I know that behind every story
is a child precious in God's sight; a child who has been wounded by the sins of
those who should have known better."

Bishop Lawrence T. Persico of Erie appeared in a news
conference and took questions shortly after the report's release, saying he
wanted to address the victims and spoke of their "unimaginable pain" and suffering.

"You were betrayed
by people holding themselves out as servants of God," he said. "Each one of you
has your own story with pain and grief that is unique to you I don't know presume
to know ' I want to assure you that you are not responsible in any way for what
happened to you."

He said he offered "sincere
apologies" for each of victims.

"Because of the
report, the public will begin to understand your pain in a new way," he said,
pledging that the Diocese of Erie would not "shroud abusers in secrecy no matter
who they are and how long ago it took place."

Bishop Zubik said in a statement, "We are sorry, I am sorry. I
take this report to heart. It is a story of peoples' lives."

"No one who has
read it can be unaffected," he said, including many who are themselves victims
of child sexual abuse and its details would reopen wounds. But no doubt some
would feel "betrayed" by the church, too, he added.

"Today, I again
apologize to any person or family whose trust, faith and well-being has been
devastated by men who were ordained to be the image of Christ," he wrote. "Ever
since I first met victims of clergy child sexual abuse in 1988, I have seen the
immense pain that this crime causes to its victims, to their loved ones and to
the heart of Jesus. Their words break my heart. I have cried with them and for
them over the damage done to them and their families by men whose lives should
have been committed to protecting their souls from harm. I dedicate myself to
helping them and to doing everything possible to prevent such abuse from
happening again."

He said the report
points out instances in the past when the church did not respond effectively to
victims.

"Swift and firm
responses to allegations should have started long before they did," he said. "For
that I express profound regret."

The grand jury said
it found in its investigation that those who claimed sexual abuse of their own
or of their children by Catholic clergy or other church workers were "brushed
aside," and officials became more concerned with protecting the abusers because
they wanted to protect the image of the church, the report says.

Some of those named in the report had their names redacted,
or blacked out, after challenging the inclusion of their identities in it
without having the legal opportunity to defend themselves. They are scheduled
to have a hearing with the court in September.

Some of the dioceses involved said they would release the
names of those facing "credible allegations" in the report when the document
was made public and some of them did so immediately.

The Diocese of Erie added five names to its list Aug. 14
and those names were not included in the grand jury report, said Bishop
Persico. Some, such as the Diocese of Harrisburg, made its list public Aug. 1,
updating it Aug. 6, adding the name of an accused priest to it after
receiving "additional information."

"We again emphasize that this is a list of accusations; we
did not make assessments of credibility or guilt in creating this list," a
statement from the diocese said.

Not all who are accused of sexual abuse or of covering it up
in the report are priests. Some on the lists released by dioceses are deacons,
some are seminarians, teachers or other church workers, and some are no longer
alive. Some are accused of being in possession of child pornography, others of
inappropriate touching, kissing, soliciting a child for sex, but most are
listed as "sexually abusing a child."

Following the sex abuse crisis in 2000, the U.S. bishops in
2002 approved procedures and protocols for addressing allegations of abuse. But Shapiro seemed to cast doubt that it was enough.

"They claimed to have changed their ways," he said.

The development comes as the Catholic Church in the United
States finds itself grappling with the late July resignation from the College
of Cardinals of a beloved and respected retired prelate, now-Archbishop
Theodore E. McCarrick, 88, of Washington, following decades-old allegations
that he sexually abused seminarians and at least two minors. He has been
removed from public ministry, as of June 20, and is awaiting a Vatican trial.

Bishop Ronald W. Gainer of Harrisburg said in a statement that he was “saddened” by the report, “for once again we read that innocent children were the victims of horrific acts committed against them.”

Gainer also apologized again to the survivors of child sex abuse and to the public, both for past abuses and for the Church officials who allowed the abuse to occur.

Harrisburg’s bishop also sought to reassure the faithful that policies had changed to ensure a safer environment, and that “there is nothing we take more seriously than the protection of those who walk through our doors. [...] The safety and well-being of our children is too important not to take immediate and definitive action.”

Bishop Joseph Bambera of Scranton released a seven-minute video in response to the grand jury report’s findings.

“While this is an uncomfortable and unsettling topic, we must speak openly and frankly about it,” said Bambera.

“I offer my deepest apologies for such behavior and for the consequences of this tragic reality in our Church.”

Bambera described the incidents in the report as a “dark chapter” in the 150-year history of the diocese.

“You have a right to be angry,” he said. “I am angry too,” noting that it was “particularly abhorrent” that abuse is alleged to have occurred in a Church environment. Bambera also outlined the steps his diocese has taken to protect children, including background checks and abuse training.

Bishop Lawrence Persico of Erie, who was the only bishop singled out for praise by the Pennsylvania attorney general, offered in a statement in an apology to the victims of abuse, saying they suffered from “unimaginably cruel behavior” for which they bore no responsibility.

Perscio praised abuse survivors for having the courage to come forward with their stories, while he also acknowledged that there are others who have not yet shared their experiences.

“I humbly offer my sincere apology to each victim who has been violated by anyone affiliated with the Catholic Church. I hope that you can accept it,” said Perscio.

“I know that apologizing is only one step in a very long and complex process of healing.”

Perscio instructed churches within his diocese to be open for a 12-hour period on September 15, the feast of Our Mother of Sorrows. He pledged to stand with the victims of abuse, and said that he was willing to meet with any survivor who wished to do so.

Bishop Alfred A. Schlert of Allentown issued an apology “for the past sins and crimes committed by some members of the clergy,” as well as “to the survivors of abuse and their loved ones,” and then to the entire diocese, for any doubts or anger the crisis has wrought.

“For the times when those in the Church did not live up to Christ’s call to holiness, and did not do what needed to be done, I apologize,” he said.

He reiterated that his “first priority” as a bishop was the protection of children.

“To those women and men and all those they have spoken for: We hear you. The Church hears you. I hear you,” said Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh in a statement after the report’s release.

Zubik also apologized to victims of clerical abuse, as well as to “any person or family whose trust, faith and well-being has been devastated by men who were ordained to be the image of Christ.” He also said he is willing to meet with any victim to apologize in-person.

Zubik emphasized that “Diocese of Pittsburgh today is not the Church that is described in the Grand Jury Report,” and that “It has not been for a long time.” Data provided by the diocese showed that over 90 percent of abuse incidents occurred prior to 1990, and Zubik explained the steps the diocese has taken to prevent abuse.

Bishop Edward Malesic of Greensburg released a video homily that will be shown at each Mass in the diocese this coming weekend. In it, Malesic apologized to the victims, who were “robbed of their childhoods” by the abuse, noting that some had been “robbed of their faith” as well.

The behavior in the report “cannot be accepted,” he said, and “it is a cause of shame for us.”

Malesic stated he was “truly proud of the victims who came forward to tell their story,” and encouraged others to come forward as well, and for the faithful to be vigilant in reporting suspected abuse.

“To the survivors of sexual abuse in the Church [...] I grieve for you, and I grieve with you.”

In a statement released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB president Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Timothy L. Doherty, chairman of the bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, expressed “shame” at the report’s conclusions.

“As a body of bishops, we are shamed by and sorry for the sins and omissions by Catholic priests and Catholic bishops… We pray that all survivors of sexual abuse find healing, comfort and strength in God’s loving presence as the Church pledges to continue to restore trust through accompaniment, communion, accountability and justice.”

The report claims to have identified more than 1,000 victims of 300 credibly accused priests and presents a devastating portrait of efforts by Church authorities to, ignore, obscure, or cover up allegations - either to protect accused priests or to spare the Church scandal.

Washington D.C., Aug 14, 2018 / 02:30 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and the former Bishop of Pittsburgh, has been named more than 200 times in a Pennsylvania grand jury report, released Aug. 14, after an 18-month investigation into historic allegations of sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses.

The cardinal released a statement in response to the report, underscoring the gravity of the sexual abuse for the Church and the real need for repentance for past failures.

“As I have made clear throughout my more than 30 years as a bishop, the sexual abuse of children by some members of the Catholic Church is a terrible tragedy, and the Church can never express enough our deep sorrow and contrition for the abuse, and for the failure to respond promptly and completely,” the cardinal said.

In total, 99 priest from Pittsburgh were named in the report, 32 priests were referenced by the grand jury report in relation to Cardinal Wuerl’s time as bishop. Of these, 19 involved new cases or allegations which arose during his 18 years in charge of the diocese, during the years 1988-2006.

Of the 19 cases which arose during Wuerl’s time as bishop, 18 were removed from ministry immediately. The other cases Wuerl addressed in Pittsburgh principally concerned actions and allegations that arose during the reign of his predecessor, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

Several of these cases inherited from Cardinal Bevilacqua’s time were subject to the report’s most stringent criticisms.

In one case, an abuser-priest left the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1966, following allegations of abuse. He was allowed to seek ministry in dioceses in California and Nevada. The report says Wuerl authorized him to move from Los Angeles to the diocese of Reno-Las Vegas in 1991, but sources familiar with the Pittsburgh case said that Wuerl was unaware of the 1966 allegations at the time.

A further allegation, concerning past actions by the same priest, was made in 1994 at which time Wuerl immediately informed the dioceses where the priest had been living.

In another case highlighted by the report, Wuerl agreed to a settlement with an abuse victim in his first weeks as bishop of Pittsburgh in 1988. The victim received a total of $900,000 and signed a confidentiality agreement - such agreements were once common in settlements and have been heavily criticized as a means of silencing victims.

While acknowledging that the report contained specific criticisms of his time in Pittsburgh, Wuerl defended his record of handling sexual abuse allegations.

“While I understand this report may be critical of some of my actions, I believe the report confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse. I sincerely hope that a just assessment of my actions, past and present, and my continuing commitment to the protection of children will dispel any notions otherwise made by this report.”

The report also specifically criticized Wuerl for maintaining financial support for priests who had been removed from ministry, although providing that support is a canonical obligation for bishops. Many dioceses, including those covered by the report, have found themselves obligated to continue providing minimum benefits and support for priests.

Sources close to the cardinal also point out that the grand jury report does not distinguish between proven incidents of abuse and other allegations, saying that the report presumes that any priest accused of abuse should have been permanently removed from ministry, whether the allegation is proven or not. That assumption, they say, is not consistent with canonical norms on the subject.

As the most senior sitting bishop to be named in the report, and having served for so long as the head of a diocese as prominent as Pittsburgh, it was widely expected that Wuerl would be singled out for special attention by the report, and by the state’s Attorney General, Josh Shapiro.

Perhaps the most eye-catching allegation against Wuerl contained in the more than 1,000 pages released is the use of the phrase “circle of secrecy.” These words, the report claims, “were his own words for the church’s child sex abuse cover up.” This allegation is vehemently denied by both the diocese of Pittsburgh and the cardinal.

In an official response released with the report, the Diocese of Pittsburgh said that the phrase “circle of secrecy” appears in paperwork related to the request of a particular priest to return to ministry, and that it was used to make clear that there could be no “circle of secrecy” about the priest’s past problems. The diocese also says that the handwriting in which the phrase is written cannot be definitively attributed to anyone, including Wuerl.

Ed McFadden, spokesman for the cardinal, said that “the handwriting does not belong to then-Bishop Wuerl as the writers of the Report mistakenly assumed. Indeed, the cardinal confirmed the handwriting is not his, and confirmed he neither wrote nor used the phrase while serving as Bishop of Pittsburgh. When the Cardinal’s legal counsel informed the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office about this error – prior to the release of the report – the Attorney General and his Senior Deputy refused to acknowledge the mistake and refused to take any steps to correct the dramatic use and misattribution of the phrase in the report.”

McFadden called the report’s attribution of the phrase “another example that in factual ways, large and small, the Attorney General’s office was more concerned with getting this report out than getting it right. Such a focus detracts from the shared goals of protection and healing.”

In a letter sent to the priests of the Washington archdiocese on Aug. 13, Wuerl wrote that he was shocked at having to confront allegations of abuse almost from the beginning of his ministry in Pittsburgh.

“I cannot fully express the dismay and anger I felt, when as a newly installed Bishop of Pittsburgh in 1988, I learned about the abuse some survivors experienced in my diocese,” he said.

The cardinal said that the experience of meeting with victims of abuse “urged me to develop quickly a “zero tolerance” policy for clergy who committed such abuse,” and that he put in place procedures to ensure allegations were addressed “fairly and forthrightly.”

In his written testimony to the grand jury, Wuerl recounted that in his first months as Bishop of Pittsburgh he had to meet with two brothers who had been victims of abuse. Wuerl said he was profoundly affected by the experience and came away with “a permanent resolve that this should never happen again.”

In 1989, Wuerl established a diocesan committee to evaluate policies for responding to abuse allegations. This committee grew to become the Diocesan Review Board, nearly a decade before the Dallas Charter called for every diocese to have such a body.

In his letter to the priests of Washington, he said that he had tried to live up to his own zero-tolerance standards.

“The diocese [of Pittsburgh] investigated all allegations of child sexual abuse during my tenure there and admitted or substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse resulted in appropriate action including the removal of the priest from ministry,” Wuerl wrote to the Washington presbyterate.

What constitutes “appropriate action” is something that has changed in the years since the sexual abuse crisis at the turn of the millennium and the formation of the Dallas Charter by the United States bishops.

As Bishop of Pittsburgh, Wuerl says he implemented of a policy that formally encouraged Catholics making complaints to also report them directly to law enforcement agencies, and sometimes informed civil authorities himself, even against the express wishes of the person making the allegations.

Of the 19 priests whose original allegations were handled by Wuerl, 18 were immediately removed from pastoral assignments and a kept away from any further contact with children.

But, when allegations could not be satisfactorily established, many of these were given administrative positions in the diocesan chancery, something which would be considered inappropriate under current standards. Unlike the worst examples of earlier abuse cases in dioceses like Boston and Los Angeles, Wuerl is adamant that he never moved an accused or suspected abuser from parish to parish, or left them in parish ministry.

Indeed, from his first year in Pittsburgh, Wuerl acted publicly on issues related to clerical sexual abuse, even in the face of Church opposition.

In 1988, the year he arrived in Pittsburgh, Wuerl removed Fr. Anthony Cipolla from ministry following accusations the priest had molested a teenage boy. Following appeals by Cipolla, the Vatican ordered that the priest be returned to ministry but Wuerl categorically refused, flying to Rome and presenting evidence and arguments in person to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Rome eventually reversed its position and upheld Wuerl’s decision.

While cases of suspected abuse since 2002 have been handled according to the USCCB’s “Essential Norms,” the Cipolla case served as an important template in the 1990’s, making it easier for other bishops to remove priests accused of abuse from active ministry.

Coming hard on the heels of the revelations about Archbishop McCarrick, who preceded Wuerl in Washington, D.C., the cardinal has found himself on the receiving end of very pointed and sustained criticism. Appearing on “CBS This Morning” ahead of the report’s release, he was pointedly asked if he had any intention of resigning. He is likely to face renewed scrutiny and even more difficult questions in the weeks ahead.

Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug 14, 2018 / 02:27 pm (CNA).- A redacted grand jury report on clerical sexual abuse in six of Pennsylvania’s Catholic dioceses was released Tuesday, following an 18-month investigation into thousands of alleged instances of abuse spanning several decades.

The report, detailing allegations made in the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Scranton, was released Aug.14. It reported on evidence of systematic abuse and cover-ups going back seven decades within these dioceses.

About half of Pennsylvania’s nearly 3 million Catholics live within these six dioceses.

The 884-page report was written by 23 grand jurors, who spent some 18 months investigating the six dioceses, examining half a million pages of documents in the process. The FBI assisted with the investigative process.

The report claims to have identified more than 1,000 victims of 300 credibly accused priests and presents a devastating portrait of efforts by Church authorities to, ignore, obscure, or cover up allegations - either to protect accused priests or to spare the Church scandal.

The report also identified a series of practices present in different ways across the dioceses which together amounted to a “playbook for concealing the truth.”

These include use of phrases like “boundary issues” or ”inappropriate contact” instead of explicitly referring to rape and sexual abuse, assigning priests to investigate their peers, instead of using qualified and objective personnel, and a reliance on psychological assessments and diagnoses

Due to laws regarding the statute of limitations, nearly every abuse allegation cannot be criminally prosecuted, although two indictments have been filed. So far, one priest, Fr. John Sweeney, has been convicted of sexually assaulting a student in the early 1990s.

The released report was partially redacted, which Attorney General Josh Shapiro was displeased about. The redactions were due to ongoing appellate litigation.

The grand jury report contains the names of 301 men. Some names were not released due to the aforementioned ongoing court cases. Details of their crimes were also redacted.

The number of victims was estimated to be in the thousands, but the true number was not quantifiable, the report said. The majority of the victims in cases examined by the grand jury were male. The ages of the victims ranged from pre-pubescent to young-adult seminarians.

The offending priests are accused of a variety of crimes, including rape, molestation, and groping. The report states that some of the priests were able to manipulate their victims with alcohol and pornography.

Approximately two-thirds of the accused priests have died. The youngest offender named in the report was born in the 1990s.

Overall, nearly one-third of the accused priests came from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the highest percentage. The second-highest by number was the Diocese of Scranton, with 55 priests within the diocese, as well as four members of the Society of St. John, identified in the report.

A total of 10 priests from Pittsburgh were identified only as “Pittsburgh Priests #1-10,” as they could not be directly identified. Two priests from Harrisburg were similarly only identified as “Harrisburg Priest #1” and “Harrisburg Priest #2.”

The Dioceses of Harrisburg and Erie have already released the names of the priests who were credibly accused of sex crimes, and the remaining dioceses pledged to do so upon the release of the grand jury report.

On August 1, Harrisburg released a list of 71 accused priests, deacons, and seminarians, which the diocese admitted was “overinclusive.” The grand jury report contained 45 names from Harrisburg, including three former seminarians.

Erie’s list included 62 people, including laypersons, who were accused of sex crimes over the last 70 years. A total of 41 people from Erie were included in the report, including one former seminarian.

In the Diocese of Allentown, 31 priests were listed, plus two members of the Carmelites, and a lay person employed as a basketball coach at a school in the diocese.

The Diocese of Greensburg had the fewest number of accused priests, with a total of 20 priests identified.

The grand jury report covered all accusations of abuse during the last 70 years, from 1947 until 2017 within the dioceses subject to investigation.

Data provided by the Dioceses of Greensburg and Pittsburgh showed that most of the alleged abuse occurred during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Greensburg did not list any abuse claims from the 2000s or 2010s.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh saw the number of reported abuse incidents spike during the 1980s, with slightly more than 80 allegations. In the 2000s, there were fewer than 10 reported.

The Dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg, and Scranton did not provide hard numbers on the timeline of abuse incidents, but each explained how they have taken steps since the mid-80s to early 90s to implement policies within their dioceses to prevent abuse.

Over the past several decades, the Church in the United States implemented a series of proactive steps intended to create a safer environment for children. These included a tougher screening process for seminarians, trainings for parish workers on how to identify and prevent abuse, and new policies on how a diocese should respond to reported misconduct.

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Washington Cardinal
Donald W. Wuerl said Aug. 14 that during his tenure as bishop of Pittsburgh
from 1988 to 2006, he "established strong policies that addressed the needs of
abuse survivors, removed priests from ministry and protected the most
vulnerable in the community."

He said he also "traveled to Rome to challenge
successfully a Vatican decision to reinstate a (Pittsburgh) priest removed from
ministry as a result of substantiated child abuse claims."

Cardinal Wuerl made the comments in
response to the Pennsylvania attorney general's release the same day of a grand
jury report on a months-long investigation of abuse claims in the Pittsburgh
Diocese and five other dioceses in the state -- Harrisburg, Greensburg, Erie,
Scranton and Allentown.

The report covers a span of over 70 years
and many of the claims are decades old.

"There have been other reports about child
sex abuse within the Catholic Church," the report says. "But never on this
scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace
away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere."

In his statement, Cardinal Wuerl said that while
he understands the report "may be critical of some of my actions, I believe the
report confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and
to prevent future acts of abuse."

"I sincerely hope that a just assessment of
my actions, past and present, and my continuing commitment to the protection of
children will dispel any notions otherwise made by this report," he added.

In his statement and in an Aug. 13 letter to
priests of the Washington Archdiocese, Cardinal Wuerl said that the part of the
report he was allowed to see before its official release had references to 32 priests in the Diocese of
Pittsburgh. His statement was accompanied by
a fact sheet about his years in Pittsburgh.

It said "the facts are" that during his
tenure as Pittsburgh's bishop, the diocese "promptly investigated" allegations
of child sexual abuse and took appropriate actions, including removal of
priests from ministry.

"The diocese required removal of a priest
from ministry in the event of an admitted or substantiated allegation of child
sexual abuse," the fact sheet said. "While allegations of abuse were being
investigated, priests were placed on administrative leave and/or sent for
professional psychological evaluation."

The grand jury report "does not distinguish
between allegations and proven facts," it said. "The report assumes that mere
allegations against a priest should have resulted in permanent removal from
ministry. This assumption is mistaken."

During his 18 years in Pittsburgh, "scientific,
psychological and medical understandings of child sexual abuse evolved significantly,
as did civil and church law," the statement said. "Still, throughout his tenure
in Pittsburgh, as well as afterwards, Cardinal Wuerl sought to implement
child-protection policies that kept pace with or were ahead of that evolution."

"As I have made clear throughout my more
than 30 years as a bishop," Cardinal Wuerl said in his remarks. "The sexual
abuse of children by some members of the Catholic Church is a terrible tragedy,
and the church can never express enough our deep sorrow and contrition for the
abuse, and for the failure to respond promptly and completely."

In
his letter to priests of the Washington Archdiocese, Cardinal
Wuerl said the report "will be a reminder of grave failings that the church
must acknowledge and for which it must seek forgiveness.

"It
will also be a reminder that there are many survivors of such abuse whom we
must continue to keep in our prayers, and whose pain we must seek to help bear
and lessen through accompaniment and care."

He said that he could not "fully express the dismay and anger I felt, when as a newly
installed bishop of Pittsburgh in 1988, I learned about the abuse some
survivors experienced in my diocese."

"It
moved me not simply to address these acts, but to be fully engaged, to meet with
survivors and their families, and to do what I could to bring them comfort and try
to begin a process for healing," he continued. "It also urged me to develop quickly a 'zero tolerance'
policy for clergy who committed such abuse, and put in place a process to
ensure that an y allegation of abuse was addressed as fairly and forthrightly
as possible."

He also
noted that while the grand jury report references 32 Pittsburgh priests, during
the seven decades the report covers, "about 1,800 or
so diocesan priests served the people of Pittsburgh in their parishes and
schools."

In that time, he added, "more than 5,000 priests served
across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in that same time frame."

"Between 1988 and 2006, how the church -- and
society as a whole -- dealt with the scourge of child sex abuse evolved:
mandatory reporting and adjudication of such claims, for example," he added. "But
what never changed was my commitment to the survivors of the abuse and their
families."

He said to the priests that he expected the report would be
critical "of some of my actions" in Pittsburgh, but he said he also believes "the
report also confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the
survivors and to prevent future acts of abuse."

"I sincerely hope that a just assessment of my actions, past and
present, and my continuing commitment to the protection of children will dispel
any notions otherwise made by this report," Cardinal Wuerl said.

He urged
prayers for anyone harmed by clergy, adding, "Our commitment
to addressing this scourge and supporting survivors, and encouraging survivors
to come forward for assistance and to seek justice must not waver."

"The Catholic Church can never express enough our deep sorrow
and contrition for the abuses of the past, and we are now in the midst of a new
era where our communal bonds of trust are once again being tested by the sin of
abuse," he added.

WASHINGTON
(CNS) -- The U.S. bishops as "are shamed by and sorry for the sins and
omissions by Catholic priests and Catholic bishops" that have led to sexual
abuse and caused great harm to many, said an Aug. 14 statement from the
president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairman of its
child protection committee.

"We
are committed to work in determined ways so that such abuse cannot happen,"
said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the president, and Bishop
Timothy L. Doherty of Lafayette, Indiana, chairman of the Committee for the Protection
of Children and Young People.

They
pledged "to maintain transparency" and provide for "the permanent removal of
offenders from ministry and to maintain safe environments for everyone."

Cardinal DiNardo also said he is hosting a series of meetings during the week to respond to "the broader issue of safe environments within the church," and will provide an update when the meetings are concluded.

The prelates' joint statement was issued in response to the release the same day of a grand jury
report based on a months-long investigation by the state's attorney general
into sexual abuse claims in six Pennsylvania dioceses -- Pittsburgh,
Harrisburg, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg.

The
report covers a span of over 70 years. Many of the claims go back decades.

"(The
report) again illustrates the pain of those who have been victims of the crime
of sexual abuse by individual members of our clergy, and by those who shielded
abusers and so facilitated an evil that continued for years or even decades,"
said Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Doherty.

"We
are grateful for the courage of the people who aided the investigation by
sharing their personal stories of abuse," they said. "As a body of bishops, we
are shamed by and sorry for the sins and omissions by Catholic priests and
Catholic bishops."

They
added, "We are profoundly saddened each time we hear about the harm caused as a
result of abuse, at the hands of a clergyman of any rank."

Cardinal
DiNardo and Bishop Doherty said the USCCB committee headed by the Indiana bishop
and the USCCB Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection at the bishops' conference in
Washington "will continue to offer avenues to healing for those who have been
abused. We are committed to work in determined ways so that such abuse cannot happen."

In
2002, the bishops adopted the "Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People," which, they said, "commits us to respond promptly and
compassionately to victims, report the abuse of minors, remove offenders and
take ongoing action to prevent abuse." The charter was revised and updated in
2011 and again in 2018.

"We
pledge to maintain transparency and to provide for the permanent removal of
offenders from ministry and to maintain safe environments for everyone," the
two prelates said. "All policies and procedures regarding training and
background check requirements are made publicly available by dioceses and
eparchies."

"We
pray that all survivors of sexual abuse find healing, comfort and strength in
God's loving presence as the church pledges to continue to restore trust
through accompaniment, communion, accountability and justice."

-
- -

Editor's
note: The full statement from Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Doherty can be found
at https://bit.ly/2MvN7yc.

Santiago, Chile, Aug 14, 2018 / 11:47 am (CNA).- Officials of the Investigative Police of Chile (PDI) raided Tuesday the offices of the Chilean bishop’s conference to seize information and statements from alleged victims of abuse perpetrated by the Congregation of the Marist Brothers.

According to Chilean officials, police are investigating 38 claims of sexual abuse related to the Marist congregation.

Government officials and members of the PDI’s Sex Crimes Division arrived at 9:15 a.m. at the downtown Santiago headquarters of the bishops’ conference, to carry out a search order from Chilean regional prosecutor Raúl Guzmán, who is overseeing the national government’s investigation of cases related to the Marist Brothers.

After the search, which lasted for about 90 minutes, the prosecutor told the press that "we are collecting and complementing the information we have already received, particularly about the identification of victims who have lodged complaints about abuses of various types."

He also stressed that these records are "related to facts that we are investigating, which can be constitutive of crime, and which involves both victims and potential defendants."

After finishing the raid, the prosecutors and the PDI went to the headquarters of the Marist Brothers, in the commune of Providencia, to specify a new procedure.

The raid is the latest of several that have occurred in Chile in the context of abuse investigations. Other raids took place in the Diocese of Rancagua, the Military Bishopric and the Ecclesiastical Court of Santiago.

The Congregation of the Marist Brothers in Chile has undertaken a canonical investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against some of its members.

In February of this year, some alleged victims of abuse perpetrated by Marist Brothers met with Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Pope's envoy to Chile, who was investigating the accusations of cover-ups made against Bishop Juan Barros or Osorno.

Spanish priest Jordi Bertomeu, who acted as the notary of those meetings, recorded that the papal envoy reminded the victims of their "right to denounce civilly" the abuse they had reported.

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Adelaide, Australia, Aug 14, 2018 / 10:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An Australian court ruled Tuesday that Archbishop Philip Wilson, who was convicted in May of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse disclosed to him in the 1970s, will serve his 12-month sentence under house arrest.

Archbishop Wilson, 67, resigned as Archbishop of Adelaide July 30.

The prelate will be eligible for parole after six months, and will be serving his sentence at the home of a relative in New South Wales, wearing a tracking device.

The archbishop's lawers have said they will appeal the conviction.

The Archdiocese of Adelaide stated Aug. 14 that Bishop Gregory O'Kelly of Port Pirie, who is serving as apostolic administrator of Adelaide, is “keeping Archbishop Wilson in his prayers as he formally commences this stage in his life, while also remembering the victims and survivors of abuse in the Church.”

Archbishop Wilson was convicted May 22 of concealing abuse committed by a fellow parish priest in New South Wales in the 1970s.

The victims of the scandal, Peter Creigh and another altar boy who is unnamed for legal reasons, said they both had told Wilson of their abusive experience with Fr. James Fletcher.

The archbishop has maintained his innocence throughout the process, saying he had no recollection of the accusations, and insisting that if he had been notified of the scandal, he would have offered pastoral care to the victims and their families, and reported the event to his superiors.

He was sentenced July 3 to a 12-month sentence.

Archbishop Wilson submitted his resignation to Pope Francis July 20, after having said initially he would only do so if his appeal failed.

He said he changed his mind because “there is just too much pain and distress being caused by my maintaining the office of Archbishop of Adelaide, especially to the victims of Fr. Fletcher,” and he had become “increasingly worried at the growing level of hurt” his conviction had caused.

Manila, Philippines, Aug 14, 2018 / 09:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic parishes and assistance centers are ready to help victims of storms and major floods in the Manila area, said Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila over the weekend.

“To our brothers and sisters affected by the flooding, just go to your parishes and social action centers if you are in need of help,” the cardinal told Radio Veritas Aug. 12. “Those who want to send their help in any way they can, they can contact our parishes and social action centers and they will be willing to accept them.”

The cardinal has asked for prayers for those affected by recent flooding, while also warning against the dangers of environmental destruction.

“Part of our call is for everyone not to add to what could destroy our environment,” he said.

The southeast monsoon, drawing more force from a tropical storm, brought rains and floods to the Manila area over the weekend. Floodwaters exceeded six feet in depth.

The storms have affected more than 1.1 million people. At least three people were killed and about 60,000 people were displaced from their homes and took refuge in evacuation centers, CBCP News reports.

More flooding is expected in the next few days.

Cleanup has begun in Manila, including efforts to remove the debris and garbage that the floods left on roads and streets.

The cardinal linked the piles of garbage to human action.

“Often times, we are the first ones who are affected by the damages we have caused our common home,” he said. “So this may serve as a reiteration of our call for us not to add anymore to the destruction of our planet.”

He encouraged Filipinos to “forget about our culture of just throwing around anything and everything.”

“Let us stop being disrespectful and indifferent of our common home,” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis is traveling to Ireland
specifically for the World Meeting of Families, but the sex abuse crisis is
dominating headlines before his
Aug. 25-26 trip.

While coverage of clerical abuse in the United States, Chile
and Australia continues, Irish news media have been filled with articles about
how a top Vatican official allegedly tried to get Irish government officials to
support deals that would protect church records of abuse allegations and limit
the financial liability of the church.

Former Irish President Mary McAleese said Cardinal Angelo
Sodano, then the Vatican secretary of state, approached her in November 2003 about
an agreement or concordat to protect church records, and Dermot Ahern,
Ireland's former foreign minister, said Cardinal Sodano asked him in November
2004 about the Irish government indemnifying the church against court-ordered
compensation for victims. Many of the institutions where the abuse took place
were supported by the state or subject to state inspection.

Cardinal Sodano, the now 90-year-old dean of the College of
Cardinals, has not responded to the claims, nor has the Vatican press office.

Writing Aug. 7 in the Irish Times, Marie Collins, who had
been one of the abuse survivors Pope Francis named to the Pontifical Commission
for the Protection of Minors, said that in Dublin the pope "should admit
the responsibility the Vatican and church leadership hold for past events in
Ireland and set out how he is going to deal with the abuses happening today in
other parts of the Catholic world."

"He needs to do more than make promises," Collins
wrote. "He must commit to action."

U.S. Dominican Father Thomas Doyle, who has spent decades
working with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, told the Irish radio RTE Aug. 13 he hoped Pope
Francis would have the courage to admit publicly that the Vatican itself was
involved in covering up abuse crimes.

"I believe that kind of a statement coming from him is
absolutely necessary because the day is long gone when people will tolerate
them saying, 'Well, we're sorry for the pain you suffered, for the mistakes
that were made.' No," he said, "it wasn't mistakes. It was an
intentional program, an intentional, systemic program" to protect the
church above all else.

Officials chose to "sacrifice the thousands of victims
for the image and the welfare and the power of the institution," Father
Doyle said. "The apology has to come from the top."

A meeting with Irish survivors of abuse is not on the pope's
official schedule, but in the past, such meetings were announced only after they
had taken place.

Irish newspapers reported Aug. 1 that Archbishop Diarmuid
Martin of Dublin said he was certain Pope Francis would speak of the abuse
scandal, but he was not sure that the pope would have time to meet with
survivors given that he would be in Ireland only 36 hours.

Collins told RTE the next day Vatican officials "are
delusional" if they believe not meeting survivors would keep the topic of
abuse out of the news while the pope is in Dublin. "Ignoring an issue is
not going to make it go away."

What the pope "needs to do, particularly now as the
flood gates are opening around the world," she said, is to state clearly
"what he is going to do about this crisis in the church. At the moment it
is not being addressed."

A session on "safeguarding children and vulnerable adults"
is scheduled for the World Meeting of Families' pastoral congress Aug. 24, the
day before the pope arrives. It will be moderated by Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley
of Boston, president of the pontifical commission, and Collins is scheduled to
be one of the presenters.

The magnitude of abuse inflicted by Catholic priests,
religious brothers and women religious in Ireland is staggering.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, the church in Ireland was rocked
by a series of very public revelations about sexual abuse and, particularly,
about how the abuse and allegations of it were mishandled by senior church
leaders. The abuse included thousands of cases of sexual and physical abuse in
Catholic residential schools and care facilities, including the so-called
Magdalene laundries where young women were sent for having children out of
wedlock or being suspected of sexual promiscuity.

A series of judicial reports detailed a pattern of cover-up
and a tendency to put the avoidance of scandal and the reputation of the church
ahead of the needs of those who were abused. Four Irish bishops resigned after
being criticized for their handling of abuse allegations.

One of the judicial reports, released in 2009, focused on
the Archdiocese of Dublin in the years 1975-2004. An independent Commission of
Investigation, headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, looked at the handling of some
325 abuse claims in the archdiocese over that 30-year period.

The report concluded that during those years, rather than
being concerned about the victims, Catholic leaders were more interested in
"the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of
the reputation of the church and the preservation of its assets."

In 2010, then-Pope Benedict XVI wrote a letter to the people
of Ireland and addressed survivors directly: "You have suffered grievously,
and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured.
Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you
found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you,
no one would listen."

Pope Benedict also ordered an apostolic visitation of
Ireland's four archdioceses, its seminaries and its religious orders and put
U.S. Archbishop Charles J. Brown, a longtime official at the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, in charge of the nunciature in Ireland. The move
came after the previous nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, was recalled in
2011 after an independent judicial report accused the Holy See of being "entirely
unhelpful" to Irish bishops trying to deal with abuse.

In July 2014, Pope Francis held his first meeting as pope
with survivors, including two from Ireland. They were accompanied by Collins,
who was then serving on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Collins resigned from the commission in March 2017, saying some Vatican offices
were blocking the implementation of recommendations made by the commission.